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Newswise — Officials at Johns Hopkins Medicine’s teen health program announce the launch of a new website, Y2CONNECT, designed to connect Baltimore City youth with a wide range of clinical and community-based health and non-health programs and resources.

Free for public use, the site can be accessed online in both English and Spanish or through a free smartphone app, available for Apple and Android.

Youth, parents and youth-serving professionals can use the site to find information gathered from some 250 local organizations on more than 50 topics, covering youth-friendly clinics, HIV testing, job readiness, mental health services and more. Users can filter searches for resources by zip code or address.

“Y2CONNECT serves not only as a database of youth-focused resources available in Baltimore City, but also as a tool for those who want more information about youth-focused topics,” says Arik Marcell, M.D., M.P.H., associate professor in the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine’s Department of Pediatrics and the initiative’s project director.

“Since moving to Baltimore in 2001 I have recognized a need for a comprehensive resource guide for youth in this city, so I’ve been focused on creating one ever since. Our main goal as youth-serving professionals is to help connect youth across all dimensions of their lives, from addressing their basic life skills to health care needs, in order to assist them in becoming successful adults,” he says.

“Content on Y2CONNECT also highlights resources designed for young men ages 15 to 25. Historically, health-focused efforts have been geared toward the needs of girls and young women. We try to address the gender gap and guide young men towards the knowledge and skills necessary to become better engaged in their health care,” says Marcell.

The user-friendly app also provides a way for users to rate the information they find and programs in which they participate using a rating system similar to popular restaurant and entertainment apps.

The Y2CONNECT initiative is aligned with Healthy Baltimore 2020, a five-year strategic project of the Baltimore City Health Department that began last summer, and will help serve as a city-wide tool to connect the public with youth-focused programs.

Y2CONNECT is funded by a grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC 1H25PS003796) and the Secretary’s Minority AIDS Initiative Fund.

Y2CONNECT is funded by a grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC 1H25PS003796) and the Secretary’s Minority AIDS Initiative Fund.